Slashdot Mirror


California Has a New Law: No More All-Male Boards (cnn.com)

Companies headquartered in California can no longer have all-male boards. From a report: That's according to a new law, enacted Sunday, which requires publicly traded firms in the state to place at least one woman on their board of directors by the end of 2019 -- or face a penalty. It also requires companies with five directors to add two women by the end of 2021, and companies with six or more directors to add at least three more women by the end of the same year. It's the first such law on the books in the United States, though similar measures are common in European countries. The measure was passed by California's state legislature last month. And it was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday, along with a trove of other bills that look to "protect and support women, children and working families," the governor's office said in a release. A majority of companies in the S&P 500 have at least one woman on their boards, but only about a quarter have more than two, according to a study from PwC.

86 of 810 comments (clear)

  1. Virtue signalling by Calydor · · Score: 5, Funny

    What happened to simply choosing the best candidate for the job instead of meeting quotas?

    And did that law seriously just assume the gender of someone sitting on the board of directors?!

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    1. Re:Virtue signalling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What happened to simply choosing the best candidate for the job instead of meeting quotas?

      ...And what about simply letting the shareholders decide? Whatever the state owns, they can do with as they please, but ONLY shareholders should decide who they want on their board---the government shouldn't say who is and who isn't eligible to be on the board :-/

    2. Re:Virtue signalling by Calydor · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I am really looking forward to the lawsuits deciding whether a post-op or pre-op transgender person (is transgender the right term to use? I honestly don't know) is one gender or the other as it comes to sitting on the board for some company.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    3. Re:Virtue signalling by Richard_at_work · · Score: 4, Informative

      The London Pride march this year saw scenes where an activist lesbian group hijacked the front of the parade, laying down in front of it, protesting "trans activism" which they claimed "erased lesbianism". They then led the march after refusing to move from the head of the parade, so spectators were bemused to see anti-trans posters and slogans leading the LGBTQ+ event...

      You literally cannot make this shit up.

      https://www.independent.co.uk/...

    4. Re:Virtue signalling by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Lol choosing the best candidate. Listen to yourself.

      95% of the time on slashdot we rightly bitch and moan about how incredibly shit upper management is. You know making short term decisions that benefit them personally and not the company. But now it's forced not to be all men all of a sudden they were all the best people for the job.

      So the your loaded about "what happened to simply choosing the best candidate?": that was never the case and we both know it.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    5. Re:Virtue signalling by michelcolman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And what about companies that only have female board members? Shouldn't they be required to have at least one male board member? If there's no such requirement, this law is clearly sexist and can probably be legally challenged on that ground.

    6. Re: Virtue signalling by cyber-vandal · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Anti-trans bigotry from the left at a Pride March should shock and appal you. Why doesn't it?

    7. Re:Virtue signalling by Calydor · · Score: 2

      You are assuming by default that the women will do a better job than the men do simply because they are women. What will you say if the women end up making even WORSE decisions?

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    8. Re:Virtue signalling by Bert64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No we're saying that the best candidates *should* be chosen...
      The best candidates are often not being chosen currently, and still won't be chosen under these new laws.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    9. Re:Virtue signalling by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As with most affirmative action laws, this one is probably made around the idea that women are being excluded from boards for reasons other than a lack of qualities relevant to the job, and forcing companies to take on women in such roles will reduce such sexism over time to the point where affirmative action isn't needed anymore. A bit like offering a free sample at a supermarket: if you like it, you'll hopefully buy more. Except this is mandatory. And not free.

      So no: there will be no law that says you can't have an all female board, because there's no widespread bias against men when selecting board members. The all-male boards aren't the problem, the bias is. And once that has been addressed, presumably the law will be repealed and it'll be ok again to have an all male (or all female) board.

      With that said, I am not so sure if there really is a significant bias against women in this day and age. There are other factors that affect a woman's career differently than a man's, both cultural and biological. And I don't think we should compensate for any natural disadvantages certain groups may or may not have, because then you're definitely doing away with selecting the best person for the job. I also don't know if affirmative action laws are terribly effective at addressing that bias, if it exists.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    10. Re: Virtue signalling by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Can we also have laws requiring firefighters to be 50% female? And construction workers, truck drivers and lumberjacks?

      How about sports teams? Shouldn't they be mixed, too?

      That would be affirmative action but I don't see many people campaigning for it. They only want to cherry pick the 'good' stuff for themselves.

      (although I'm not sure what's so great about working all the hours that a big company CEO works, maybe the reason there's not many female CEOs is that they're not psychopathic enough)

      --
      No sig today...
    11. Re:Virtue signalling by Kokuyo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Am I the only one thoroughly enjoying the fracturing that is happening in this movement?

      The only thing that makes me sad here is that people who are truly fighting for us being decent to each other get a bad rep by proxy...

    12. Re:Virtue signalling by michelcolman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You can try to find arguments as much as you like, and I do understand your point, but in this day and age you simply cannot make laws that apply to one sex but not the other. If you want to abolish sexism, don't use sexist laws.

    13. Re: Virtue signalling by Calydor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've said it before, we only have true equality when we have an equal mix of male and female garbage collectors.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    14. Re:Virtue signalling by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, I was moved out during a regular upgrade cycle. Always the same story. Join the Air Force, they said. It's an attack helicopter's life, they said. Now I'm moonlighting as a crop duster, and me with four little drones to feed and put through college.

    15. Re:Virtue signalling by radja · · Score: 2, Insightful

      if you can't use sexist laws to combat sexism (which is a fair point), what alternatives are there? Many people keep saying "this law sucks", but I don't see anyone providing an alternative.

      --

      No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
      --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
    16. Re:Virtue signalling by djinn6 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Replace "women" with "blacks" and you have 60 years of affirmative action to look back on. If it really does work, then why are blacks still at the bottom of society by just about every metric?

      If you take affirmative action to its logical conclusion, what you end up with is South Africa. Having dismantled apartheid in 1994, South Africa has turned the tables on its white citizens and has been actively oppressing them for 2 decades. Any white person that had the means to leave has already left. And now the country is falling apart. The government is hopelessly corrupt, murder rates are through the roof, and the economy is declining year over year.

      Did one cause the other? I wouldn't know. But I do wonder, if we try too hard to put unqualified people in charge, would we also end up in such a downward spiral?

    17. Re:Virtue signalling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How about "do nothing"? If a company excludes the best qualified workers for whatever reason - gender, ethnicity, hair color - then the company and its shareholders suffer the consequences of poorer overall performance. That's a choice that should be allowed - as adults, we all know actions have consequences, and we live with our choices. (And the high-perfoming people who were excluded can go someplace else, maybe even form a competitor, and improve that business's results. Payback time.)

    18. Re:Virtue signalling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The fundamental inconsistencies are too great for this dynamic not to collapse on itself sooner than later. It's one thing to badger conservative straight white men into saying "ma'am" through clenched teeth when some bald potato of a man in a dress walks up to the counter, but it's different when you start badgering the very people who are used to doing the badgering. Feminists are now faced with a world where all the women's sports records are held by dudes and a lesbian who won't suck cock is called a bigot. The only thing holding it all together seems to be solidarity in their mutual hatred of white men.

      That being said, the irony of feminism as an institution being usurped by men is kinda fucking hilarious.

    19. Re:Virtue signalling by religionofpeas · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So with the new law, they'll hire a rich white dude with the proper connections, and his wife.

    20. Re: Virtue signalling by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They're not saying 50%.

      Yet.

      And why only women? Why not one black, one Asian, one Hispanic, all required by law?

      (and with a minimum mixture of gender identities among them, of course)

      I can see one immediate problem: If there's only three members on the board then which group gets priority? There's obviously no answer to that so we have to require a minimum number of board members, too. Make sure nobody is left out.

      The problem with left-wing politics is that there isn't a clear line which says "we went too far" when you cross it.

      --
      No sig today...
    21. Re:Virtue signalling by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Funny

      Every board must have people of both genders.

      "Both" genders? Are you implying there's only two?

      --
      No sig today...
    22. Re: Virtue signalling by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If we're going to pass laws like this then shouldn't we require an equal mix of POTUS?

      That would mean that the next election would require only women candidates.

      I find myself strangely attracted to that idea, not because they're women but because it would throw the status-quo into turmoil.

      --
      No sig today...
    23. Re:Virtue signalling by Wycliffe · · Score: 2

      this one is probably made around the idea that women are being excluded from boards for reasons other than a lack of qualities relevant to the job.

      This has the same problem as third party presidential candidates. Most presidential candidates are governors first. Because there are no libertarian or green party governors, it's hard to have decent presidential candidates. Most fortune 500 board members and CEOs were previously board members and CEOs on smaller companies. Starting at the top doesn't make any sense.

    24. Re:Virtue signalling by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 3, Interesting

      forcing companies to take on women in such roles will reduce such sexism over time to the point where affirmative action isn't needed anymore.

      A noble goal in theory but in practice this never happens. Once enshrined, such race/gender/whatever quotas become permanent fixtures, as no politician has the courage to suggest they be removed. The cries of "they want a return to sexism/bigotry/whatever" would be so deafening they'd be drummed out of office before the ink was dry on the proposal. This is why such laws should never be implemented in the first place.

      For that matter, how do you think this "diversity quota" appointee to the board will be viewed by pre-existing board members? The idealists (that's being charitable) who came up with this idea don't bother to consider the psychological effects on the "diversity quota" board member either. Can you imagine a more demeaning setup than to know you only got the position because a law required someone without a penis to sit in a chair?

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    25. Re: Virtue signalling by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yet.

      And why only women? Why not one black, one Asian, one Hispanic, all required by law?

      Because the goal is not to force equal numbers, it's to overcome a specific obstacle. By requiring one woman on every board the hope is that it gets easier for the second woman or the non-old-white-guy.

      Unfortunately it's literally impossible to have a debate about this on Slashdot, but I'm well beyond caring about the karma at this point.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    26. Re: Virtue signalling by shaitand · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I didn't hear a requirement for all female boards to add men or for white people in the racial mix.

    27. Re: Virtue signalling by shaitand · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Literally impossible because you refuse to do it? You can't stand losing the debates? Literal means something and literally impossible is the only condition I can think of that is literally impossible statistically.

      It is to overcome a specific obstacle which is assumed and not proven. A measure like this is wrong, the state has no business dictating to shareholders (who can be men or women without prejudice) who they want on their board of directors. It is also extremely sexist, they aren't requiring gender diversity they are specifically attacking males in favor of females.

      Most importantly this is a LAW, it is forever, and it has encoded sexism in law. The logic being used to justify it doesn't allow room for the possibility your "specific obstacle" will ever be behind us.

    28. Re: Virtue signalling by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 2

      The problem with left-wing politics is that there isn't a clear line which says "we went too far" when you cross it.

      That's a feature, not a bug.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    29. Re:Virtue signalling by dfghjk · · Score: 2

      "Am I the only one thoroughly enjoying the fracturing that is happening in this movement?"

      No you are not, but the fact you have company doesn't say anything good about you.

    30. Re: Virtue signalling by smoot123 · · Score: 2

      Because the goal is not to force equal numbers, it's to overcome a specific obstacle. By requiring one woman on every board the hope is that it gets easier for the second woman or the non-old-white-guy.

      Fair enough. There are a lot of the problems in the world, we might as well start by addressing the largest one first.

      Do you see the opposing point? This is not a scalable strategy. There is also a lack of black, hispanic, disabled, veteran, LBGTQ, and many other labeled groups on corporate boards. Is the intent to add other requirements going forward? If we do, will we drop the female board member requirement or retain it? At some point, it will become virtually impossible to represent every identifiable aspect of humanity on every board.

      So I have several objections to this law.

      First, what happened to liberty? I own part of the company, why can't I elect the board member I see as the best custodian of my cash? Why should I have to accept either a fee or a less qualified candidate? Where's the ethical support for that?

      What gives California the right to impose this fee just because a company has their "principle executive offices" here? I thought companies were governed largely by the state in which they are incorporated. Many companies incorporate outside of California for just this reason. What makes the location of your executive headquarters so special?

      Why aren't women being elected to boards already? If, as diversity advocates assert, having diverse boards is so productive, why haven't greedy shareholders already figured this out and hired women? Boards and shareholders are frequently depicted as being extremely motivated to increase profit, this seems like an easy way to do it. So are all boards really so biased against women that they all are passing on the quick bucks? That seems implausible to me.

      I think it will be ineffective and counterproductive. If I ran a large corporation, I'd basically scoff at the fees. The maximum is $300k per director seat, so it maxes out at $900k per company per year to elect no directors. If I'm running Apple, I'd just suck it up. That's trivial. I could argue that the difference between the best director and the best woman director is likely to affect Apple's profit by much more than $300k a year. As a result, the fee just becomes another cost of doing business in California. Who this will affect are small companies who are just starting. They can't ignore a fee of $100k or $300k. Those are also the companies who most depend on expert board members so you're really imposing a burden on the companies who can least afford it. Since we like to encourage startups, this seems like poor policy.

      I think this will harm women in the long run and make it harder for qualified women to get on boards. Like it or not, every woman elected to a board will now have a cloud over them. Were they the best candidate or were they the diversity token? Will corporations create board positions with little power or influence, just to fill with token individuals to avoid the fine? When that woman wants another board position, will people (perhaps unconsciously) discount her experience on the assumption she was just there to fill a quota? Do all women really want that stigma?

      And what about other groups? If I were Hispanic or black, I'd immediately start clamoring for a similar quota. I could see veterans and disabled people doing the same. Shortly it's going to be virtually impossible to elect a board which fulfills all the quotas. That would be catastrophic.

      So. That's a long-winded response. What I expect to happen is a few things. First, some companies will go along and propose more women on the recommended slate. Other companies will just ignore it and pay the fine. Some companies will decide to set up their headquarters in Seattle, Austin, or Boston instead of LA or San Jose. Some women will get their big break and a seat in the board room. Many more women will get elected to boards but will be treated as second-class members.

    31. Re:Virtue signalling by Lothsahn · · Score: 2

      Yes, if we abandon Meritocracy, we will eventually end up with a downward spiral. This is the danger that movements like https://postmeritocracy.org/ cause.

      History has proven this, but we forget. This is exactly what happened in Russia. There was inequality (wealth), so those with resources "obviously" must have been hoarding it--they were biased against those with less. So those in power seized the wealth and imprisoned the farmers (Kulaks) in 1918-1933+[1]. This resulted in the Kulaks slaughtering their animals, selling the meat and grain, and hiding their resources. Keep in mind the Kulaks weren't the "1%"--these were lower-middle class farmers.

      This resulted in massive starvation as the agricultural sector in Russia collapsed in 1932.[2]
      When the snow melted true starvation began. People had swollen faces and legs and stomachs. They could not contain their urine... And now they ate anything at all. They caught mice, rats, sparrows, ants, earthworms. They ground up bones into flour, and did the same with leather and shoe soles ...[1]

      Don't declare war on those with skills and resources. Do provide social assistance for those less fortunate in your society, but not at the expense of declaring war on the rich. If you eliminate or destroy those who drive the economic engine of your country, it will collapse. Societal collapse results in immeasurable suffering and the deaths of hundreds of millions. This is the lesson that history has taught over and over again, but we seem to have forgotten in the pursuit of "equality". If you don't believe me, read the Gulag Archipelago. It used to be required reading in US social studies classes, but we've abandoned that. The march towards equality at the expense of ability and merit is as scary as it is wrong.

      Sources:
      [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
      [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      -=Lothsahn=-
    32. Re: Virtue signalling by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Currently my post is scored 20% flamebait and 20% overrated. For the sake of argument let's discount the overrated and assume that moderation is genuine.

      There are people out there for whom merely disagreeing with them on this topic, merely contradicting their narrative is incitement. It angers them so much that they can't allow it to be discussed or visible at +2. This is a problem for Slashdot because it prevents effective debate by hiding half of the argument and discouraging people from expressing those views lest it destroy their karma.

      "Most importantly this is a LAW, it is forever"

      That's not how laws work.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    33. Re: Virtue signalling by shaitand · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Currently my post is scored 20% flamebait and 20% overrated."

      Your post is scored 5 insightful. My post is scored 2 Troll.

      ""Most importantly this is a LAW, it is forever"

      That's not how laws work."

      That is exactly how laws work, at least by default.

      "There are people out there for whom merely disagreeing with them on this topic, merely contradicting their narrative is incitement. It angers them so much that they can't allow it to be discussed or visible at +2."

      Yes, and your posting history over the last couple days suggests you may be one of them or you might just be trolling. They are the people modding you up and me down.

      Your post contained a vague undefined reference to a "specific objective" as well as a suggestion without any logical support that a debate could not be had.

      I extrapolated based on the actual underlying agenda in the story for the sake of debate and provided logical refutation as well as specific facts. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong but I logically supported my statements and someone who disagreed is welcome to refute them logically.

      In any sane world your post would have been correctly moderated as a troll or flamebait because you were vague, attacked the integrity of the forum, and provided no coherent rationale or logical support for any position. What your lean or position is on the actual topic being discussed is beside the point. You added no value to the arguments of any position.

  2. Ridiculous by war4peace · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, I am a white male.
    Yes I have witnessed discrimination against women.
    Yes, I have also witnessed discrimination against men.
    Yes, I have witnessed discrimination against minorities too.

    Yes, I do believe measures must be taken to eliminate discrimination.

    No, I do not think laws such as this would fall under the measures to eliminate discrimination” category, nor that they would do any good.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    1. Re:Ridiculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > Yes, I am a white male.

      who the fuck cares what you think?

      Who even told you, that you can speak?

    2. Re:Ridiculous by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If only 's/witnessed/fought against/g'

      --
      I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    3. Re:Ridiculous by jpaine619 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Who even told you, that you can speak?

      Why did you, put a comma, there?

    4. Re:Ridiculous by jpaine619 · · Score: 2

      Abandon California? That's actually not a bad idea. The costs to incorporate in NV and maintain "headquarters" there would be fairly trivial. Since the laws regarding things like Corporate Organizing and Board Member Eligibility are governed by the state of incorporation, these companies could legally tell the state, and its stupid laws, to go fuck itself.

      In fact, this law can only affect companies incorporated in California.

    5. Re:Ridiculous by Bert64 · · Score: 2

      Laws such as this not only don't eliminate discrimination, they directly cause it.
      Companies will now be forced to appoint women to the board even if there are no qualified women available, and they will have to do this by discriminating against any qualified men who were available.
      If there are qualified women available then they would have been appointed anyway:

      A majority of companies in the S&P 500 have at least one woman on their boards

      Even without being forced to do so, it seems these companies already appoint women to their boards if female candidates are available and suitably qualified.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    6. Re:Ridiculous by war4peace · · Score: 3, Informative

      Situation 1: female co-worker discloses her salary to me. I witness her being discriminated, because I know of another male colleague with a similar function and less skill who is better paid, but I can't do anything about it because salaries are supposed to be confidential (in my country, at least). I can't fight against it, because it's based on proof obtained illegally, so-to-speak.

      Situation 2: Minority fellas can't get jobs because employers don't trust them. Authorities themselves turn a blind eye. What am I supposed to do, start a holy-one-man crusade? A decade ago I helped one guy I knew (minority) get hired as a first level support in the company I work for, now he's a manager and makes more than I do. He probably wouldn't have been hired if I hadn't vouched for him. he doesn't know it and I won't tell him because it was not a big deal. But yes, discrimination towards minorities is a thing.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    7. Re:Ridiculous by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

      If only 's/witnessed/fought against/g'

      Which is what California thinks it is doing.

      Your "fighting" is often just injustice of a different flavor.

    8. Re:Ridiculous by Hasaf · · Score: 3, Informative

      I sat in a training meeting, in a government agency, and a ranking member (yes, female) made the statement, "I majored in sociology and I know for a fact that all of the worlds problems are caused by white males." It was quite clear that the men in the room were not to object.

      That was the place where I was marked down for not socializing. My supervisor even made the comment, during the review, "after work we all go to curves (a women only gym) you don't seem to even try to take part." As a comment, every day I went to the officers gym; however, the women in the department, including my supervisor, didn't use it, preferring to go to curves. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with curves, or other single gender facilities. I was bothered by being marked down for not using them.

  3. This is sexist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Should be placed due to qualifications, not gender.

    This is the same misconception I see time an time again.

    Equal representation does not equal not being sexist. It is actually just more sexism as you have to fill the role taking into account their gender.

    There is also a second sexist thing that is going on, as long as it sexism is against the gender that is thought to be in the wrong. This type of sexism is deemed ok. I strongly disagree with this. It just more sexism.

    Equality is for all, not just one gender.

    1. Re:This is sexist by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Should be placed due to qualifications, not gender.

      Company upper upper management being based on qualifications? Yes that would be a vewy novel idea. Let me know when that every happened.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    2. Re:This is sexist by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Replacing one bogus metric with another is going to accomplish what exactly? You don't really think that this will allow women to become part of the "good old boys" network, do you? All we're really going to see is the woman who has to go fetch the coffee for the men gets paid more, else, same shit as today.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:This is sexist by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 2

      Should be placed due to qualifications, not gender.

      Yes but this does not create the desired "Harrison Bergeron" outcome we're told must be the ideal, where everyone is completely equal despite everyone being completely different. Therefore laws must be made to force logic aside and embrace such cognitive dissonance.

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  4. Here we go... by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    On one side, we have those who believe that the "best" candidate should always get the job. They don't really know what "best" means, because they clearly keep hiring the guy who is not the "best", but he's a great guy from a great family from the best schools, so there.

    One the other side, we have those who believe that the government should phone them up with a great job while they finish another game level and devour another bag of Cheetos in mom's basement.

    There, that about sums up the flaming about to happen here.

    --
    I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    1. Re:Here we go... by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How about those who just believe that discrimination based on gender, age, religion or race is just wrong? Yes, such discrimination still goes on society but you are not going to get rid of it by legally requiring such discrimination in the same way that you cannot get rid of corruption by bribing politicians to take action against it.

  5. It's a good start, BUT by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Funny

    fairness and justice will only be reached when 3 of those seats are mandated to be filled by African-Americans, and 3 are reserved for Hispanic Americans.

    1. Re:It's a good start, BUT by zmooc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Proportional to what? You probably mean proportional to the general population. For tech companies that should scare the hell out of anyone since what graduates from university is not a proportional representation of the general population at all....

      --
      0x or or snor perron?!
    2. Re:It's a good start, BUT by Bert64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Asians are more likely to enroll at college, and more likely to succeed there.
      Asians are a minority in the US and other western countries, and yet they are highly successful.

      The success of asians shows that there is no inherent discrimination by whites against minorities, if that were the case then asians wouldn't be doing well either. The fact is opportunities are there for everyone, and it is these other minority groups which are failing to grasp them - in many cases because their culture and attitude is self destructive.

      The same can be said of the world in general. While many white countries are leading world powers either economically or militarily, several asian countries are up there too but there are no african countries of any great significant on the world stage. There are also many small and insignificant white countries.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    3. Re:It's a good start, BUT by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 2

      For tech companies that should scare the hell out of anyone since what graduates from university is not a proportional representation of the general population at all....

      Then clearly a law should be passed that automatically grants university degrees to women and minorities regardless of their actual academic achievements in order to remedy this shortfall! Who cares if they can function usefully in their field? DIVERSITY MUST BE SERVED REGARDLESS OF CONSEQUENCES!

      Or at least that's what we're being told. Let me know how well the next airplane designed by a diversity engineer flies, or how well the brain surgery by the diversity neurosurgeon goes, or how well the IT security is on systems implemented by the diversity security engineer. It's all fine and dandy to whine and froth about diversity because the fools who are doing the whining and frothing are insulated from the consequences. They magically find the best and brightest without consulting the diversity goddess and are invulnerable to criticism because hey, they champion diversity for everyone else.

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  6. And furthermore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Furthermore it is now required to have at least one moron, one down syndrome, one bozo the clown, one batman, one hippie, one streetsweeper, one biker, one dog and one skeleton on the board.

    Merits are overrated according to people without merit.

  7. What about non-binaries? by mveloso · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Do non-binaries count against the new gender quota?

    1. Re:What about non-binaries? by truedfx · · Score: 2

      The law requires a certain number of female directors, not a certain number of non-male directors. California is one of the states that recognises and and is scheduled to allow "nonbinary" as a third gender in addition to "male" and "female", with no distinction between "neither male and female", "both male and female", and any other options, so presumably anyone using that option would not be counted. If challenged, it could result in an interesting discrimination lawsuit.

  8. Brave New World by Cito · · Score: 2

    Aldous Huxley would definitely be laughing and saying he told us so.

    1. Re:Brave New World by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Aldous Huxley would definitely be laughing and saying he told us so.

      Aldous Huxley was a communist and user of entheogens. He was a proponent of sustainable living and production, environmentalism, and cooperative living. Also a good buddy of Timothy Leary. I'm surprised you think you can predict his opinion on anything.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  9. How patronizing! by ARos · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What could possibly be more insulting to women than to suggest that they cannot negotiate power on their own as individuals? What's next? CA demands that VC invest at most 50% of their capital investment into companies started by men? These people need to be driven out of Sacramento with pitchforks and blowtorches.

    1. Re:How patronizing! by ARos · · Score: 2

      Why stop at gender? Why not go full intersectionalist and demand that each board contain a proportionate amount of blacks and gays and Muslims and trans and Eskimos and vegans? Half of the country voted for Trump: maybe half of CA boards should be conservatives?

    2. Re:How patronizing! by jpaine619 · · Score: 2

      Right, because everyone begins their adult life from the exact same starting line, and all existing institutions are perfect as is.

      You're absolutely right.. It's way more reasonable to select people for positions of power based solely on what they have between their legs.

      Sometimes solutions to problems are not tried because they aren't rational solutions. You're right that not all institutions are perfect, but this isn't a reasonable resolution.

      It would sound just as ludicrous to suggest a man was qualified for a board seat simply because he has a dick. Some boards might hire men exclusively, but I can guarantee you that sex isn't the only factor.
      The ability to speak words probably factors in there somewhere. i.e. there is some intrinsic level of intelligence required. e.g. Just because he's a male would not qualify a Down's Syndrome person to sit on the board of any random company you could name. So we can infer that existing boards aren't only using sex as the only factor in determining members.

      However this new law ignores that. It declares that a vagina is the sole qualification needed to satisfy the requirements of the law.

      Do you really not think that is fucking insane?

    3. Re:How patronizing! by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 2

      Half of the country voted for Trump: maybe half of CA boards should be conservatives?

      Because diversity only matters when considering unchangeable traits you were born with and can't change. However, things like thoughts and speech must be rigidly controlled by the diversity police. You can be as diverse as you like so long as you think exactly like everyone else. No cognitive dissension is allowed. That might lead to ideas and ideas contrary to the orthodoxy must be quashed.

      --
      In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  10. Unintended Consequences by rossz · · Score: 2

    Watch as a bunch of businesses re-incorporate in another state. The politicians in Sacramento haven't figured out that a lot of businesses are not physically tied to California. My state already has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the country and the fees are never ending.

    --
    -- Will program for bandwidth
  11. Is an operation even necessary ? by drnb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am really looking forward to the lawsuits deciding whether a post-op or pre-op transgender person (is transgender the right term to use? I honestly don't know) is one gender or the other as it comes to sitting on the board for some company.

    Is an operation even necessary? I mean can't a person merely say they personally identify as a female and as per California values that's the end of the story, the person's declaration MUST be honored.

    1. Re:Is an operation even necessary ? by swillden · · Score: 2

      Does it really work like that in California? Most places it's not just enough to declare you are female, you have to actually live as a female. Shave your beard, wear women's clothing, change your name etc.

      Cite? This may be practice, but I'd be really surprised to see it as codified law anywhere, and I'd love to read the statute if it is. I can imagine someone trying to draft such a law getting wrapped around the axle in all the corner cases and details. It seems extremely difficult to craft.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  12. If it works for bathrooms, it works for boardrooms by drnb · · Score: 2

    If claiming a female identity is all that is necessary to use the women's restroom, then that is all that is necessary to meet the quota for the boardroom.

  13. Imagine a room full of Dilbertian PHB's by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What happened to simply choosing the best candidate for the job

    You actually think board selection is a meritocracy? The further one goes from doing measurable tasks, the more social issues play into selection. The office is chock full of politics and social maneuvering. I can tell you boatloads of stories.

    1. Re:Imagine a room full of Dilbertian PHB's by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 3

      Indeed, that is the reality, and I applaud your comment.

      --
      I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    2. Re:Imagine a room full of Dilbertian PHB's by rickb928 · · Score: 2

      So you're saying merit is based on a number of factors, including getting along, gaining approval from others, and gaining trust?

      Yea, that seems about right.

      Oh, and wanting the same things as the others? Yea, that too.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  14. Equality Theatre by drnb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If "choosing according to merit" magically selects only straight white dudes, your definition of "merit" badly needs examining because you're basically saying that straight white dudes are somehow objectively superior.

    Nope. Its saying that only straight wide dudes were being properly prepared. Mandating board seats does not fix the qualification problem, it merely is equality theatre. Nothing more. A placebo for the dimwitted. But if you fail to see this its not your fault, you weren't properly educated and prepared to understand reality.

    Want to fix the actual problem rather than have equality theatre, then make sure young women get properly educated, trained, mentored, etc and then we'll have honest actual diversity. Which is sort of happening, female enrollment in MBA programs is getting better and better each year.

  15. Easy workaround by DanielTanner · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just get two male members to identify as female. It would hold the courts up for months.

  16. Common in European countries? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Though similar measures are common in European countries" - Er... no, they're not. There is no remotely similar law in the EU.

  17. Most corporations in US incorporated in Delaware by drnb · · Score: 3, Informative

    Are the powerful, white, greying power elites really that mobile that they'd up and move to another state? It happens, but not the way you're imagining. A smart person would check out the lay of the land before making a knee-jerk, anger-based life change.

    Actually a smart person would know that you can incorporate in Delaware, become a client of a Delaware attorney (i.e. give him/her a modest retainer payment), pay for a service that is your legal mail drop and answering service in Delaware (a modest annual fee), and then you can run your business from and have offices in whatever state you want including California. Most US corporations, in general and fortune 500, are incorporated in Delaware.

  18. Everyone should just come out at women... by Karmashock · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... No really. Just say "I identify as a woman".

    Game over.

    why? Because the inter-sectional Marxists have swallowed a whole lot of contradictions and conflicting interest groups in their quest for power.

    Opposing forces have behaved in a dumb "reactionary" pattern where they don't really change what they're doing but merely cite their disagreement with things. This is idiotic.

    The point of intersectionalism is to conflate as many interest groups as possible with analogs of classical "class struggle".

    The way to fight this is to not treat these various ploys separately and not appreciate the wider context but rather to hammer at the very glue that holds these groups together... which is generally a deceit that suggests that if you give X power then all these contradictory interest groups will get what they want.

    So the black power groups will get what they want, the feminist groups will get what they want, the islamic organizations will get what they want, the hispanic groups will get what they want, the trans activists will get what they want.

    It isn't possible to satisfy these agendas at the same time. Which is why in practice they're not satisfied at all. Look at Detroit. It went from being a mecca of blue collar success to a warren of endless crack dens. But the people that took power when that started are still in power.

    Weird, huh? The only people that will ultimately get power are a few elites and some politicians and some political party here or there might pick up power. But the endless ranks of dupes that fuel this nonsense will get nothing.

    Women will get nothing.
    name the racial group will get nothing.
    The various agitating ethnic religious factions will get nothing.

    It is a big silly game.

    And THAT is the weakness.

    By declaring yourself a woman, you hammer on one of the more glaring incompatibilities in "intersectionalism" which is the conflict between Feminism and Trans-sexualism.

    The Feminist movement holds that all gender norms are social constructs and that women should be advanced above men generally to address historic favoring of men.

    The trans movement holds that gender is biological and that one can "feel" like a woman inside or a man or whatever indifferent to social constructs. And that one can shift between being "male" or "female" simply by citing yourself as one or the other. A medical procedure is not required, nor is changing your sexual partners, nor is changing your preferred clothing, etc. So a 55 year old guy in a suit can just say he's a woman according to the Trans sexual movement. He doesn't have to do anything besides that.

    The feminists have predictably been giving ground to the Trans movement even though they make up at best something like .01 percent of the population or something. It is a pretty common tell with intersectionalism that individual interest groups will always subordinate their interests when they come into conflict with the collective intersectional power structure. This has already lead several feminist conventions to stop performing the vagina monologues. And quite a few of these things will have it openly cited that "not all women have vaginas".

    This is the weakness of intersectionalism. The greediness of it to gather too many conflicting interests under one banner.

    So don't attack any of the hydra heads. Attack the body that connects them. The hydra heads are endless. A giant waste of time to argue with any of these interest groups directly. Rather go after what gives them the national thrust they have... break up the alliances by forcing them into conflict with each other.

    Short of that, intersectionalism will continue until the people primary interested in their own personal power have total control over everything... and then basically tyranny until systemic corruption and inefficiency destroys the society.

    Either/or.

    Here some zealot for the cause may tell me that a zillion contradictory interests can be satisfied at the same time. Not without divine intervention, bucko. Only one planet and one reality. The oppression pyramid is a pyramid scheme. Wise up.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  19. Oppsite Effects by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    These types of laws have the opposite effect. Women on these boards will be seen as only having the position because the laws demand it, so they won't be taken seriously. This is a blow to female advancement, not an improvement.

    It'll also stifle new companies. A group of male friends won't be able to form a public company if they can't find a female to help. And where is the corresponding law which says all female boards need a male member? I wish people in the government used their brains more for the overall benefit of the population rather than their own benefit.

  20. What About One Man? by mentil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the law doesn't also require at least one man on a board of directors, I don't see this passing a challenge that it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:What About One Man? by skovnymfe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's not how feminism works.

  21. More obscure consequence by Bruce66423 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I got censored from the Guardian for pointing out that a non-white female writer who won a Hugo would never know if she was the best, or merely the best available woman writer. In the same way a female director will never know if she is on the board because she is competent, or merely making up the numbers...

  22. If women had balls, this would be a kick to them by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So every woman from now on that actually manages to climb the corporate ladder and punch through the glass ceiling will be dismissed as the "quota bitch". Great work, feminists, turn your own movement of empowerment where women were supposed to become self-confident and self-reliant into a social program that reeks more like a hand-up for handicapped people who can't accomplish anything themselves.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  23. Re:Chairman, CEO, CFO, CTO, Token1, Token2 by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    May I introduce our board? This is the CEO, you'll do the negotiation with him. The other goons back there are the token black guy, token woman, token genderfluid, token nonchristian, token ..., don't bother talking to them, they have no idea what we're doing here, they were just the cheapest idiots we could hire for the job.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  24. Re:Sexist crap! by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Not only that, but it promotes sexism. Any woman that now manages to get on the board will be dismissed as the "token bitch", even if she rightfully has that position due to qualification and hard work.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  25. Re:So basically... by jpaine619 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yep... Amazing isn't it?

    That's my problem with "liberalism". At the core it really is hypocritical.

    Liberals hate discrimination against women, but will champion discrimination for women.

    Liberals demand there are no true differences between the sexes, but will support a law based solely on sex.

    Liberals will rail against racial discrimination but will support laws that "fix" that by mandating selections based only upon race (affirmative action)

    Sexual and racial discrimination suck. They really do, but the fix is not sexual and racial favoritism. You can't have solutions that mirror the problem. Education is the only way you can really fix a problem.

    I'm not racist not because the government told me I couldn't be. I'm not racist because I've worked and been near people of all races and learned that they're just people.. Racism is taught. Tolerance is taught. Mandating legal solutions to social problems rarely works and there tends to be a lot of collateral damage.

  26. All female boards? by ReneR · · Score: 4, Interesting

    are ruled out, too?

  27. Re: All "virtue signalling" means is by UnConeD · · Score: 2

    What is wrong with all male boards? And why do the people pushing for this law seem to think correlation is causation, and forcing women in will result in better leadership?

  28. Re: Funny new problems by Joce640k · · Score: 2

    Odd-numbered days are reserved for being half Apache helicopter and half Abrams tank... a flying, tanking, confused, multipurpose paperweight the MIC doesn't actually need but built experimentally anyhow for the money.

    The Osprey?

    --
    No sig today...
  29. South Africa is going full retard by mpercy · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's like they looked over at Zimbabwe and said "Hold my beer..."